A teddy bear, a few lunch boxes, slippers and handbags lying on the ground at the spot where the Hathras stampede tragedy unfolded on Tuesday continue to tell of the horrors of the day when devotion to a self-styled godman Narayan Saakar Hari alias ‘Bhole Baba’ turned into a ghastly affair as more than 120 devotees lost their lives. However, locals, who were witness to the mayhem, said the number of the dead is not less than 400.
In the sobbing town of Hathras many are seen grieving for their loved ones who lost their lives in one of the worst stampedes in the country, cursing the cop-turned-godman who claims to heal and even bring the dead back to life.
“Itne hi bade bhagwan the to wapis kyo nahi aaye apne bhakto ke liye? (If he is such a big God why didn’t he come back for his devotee?),” said a man identified Ramesh Kashyap who lost his mother in the tragic incident.
Meanwhile, the Uttar Pradesh police on Thursday arrested six ‘sevadars’ including two women in connection with the Hathras stampede. However, the preacher has not been mentioned as accused in the FIR lodged at the local Sikandra Rao police station. The only accused named in the FIR is at large. The preacher ‘Bhole Baba’ will be questioned if required during investigation, a senior officer said.
“A reward of `one lakh will be announced soon and non-bailable warrant (NBW) will also be issued against the key accused Devprakash Madhukar,” Inspector General of Police (Aligarh Range) Shalabh Mathur said.
In the village of Sokhana, four people lost their lives including three from a single family. Binod, a 40-year- old labourer, was in Barelli in search of a job when he heard the news of his mother’s death in the stampede.
However, destiny had worse in store for him as upon return he got to know that his wife and his nine-year daughter had also lost their lives in the tragedy.
“Barbad hogya mai.” were the few words he could utter while sharing his grief. Even recovering the bodies was a traumatic experience for the kin as mortal remains of the victims were sent to hospitals in different neighbouring towns with the family members being unaware of the exact locations.
“My mother’s body was in Agra, my daughter’s in Aligarh and that of wife’s in Hathras,” he said in between sobs, explaining how difficult it was to even get their bodies. His elder son of 20 years remembers how he went to find his grandmother’s body in Hathras’ district hospital but found his mother’s body instead. No officials have yet come to meet the grieving family or extend any support to them.
Locals tell how many still come to the location where the stampede had occurred to find the bodies of their near and dear ones but all in vain. On the day of tragedy, bodies were stuffed in vans and sent to different hospitals. People narrate how bodies were lying around in the hospitals in large numbers, making that day the most horrific for them.
Meanwhile, in the Sikandra Rao district hospital only a few injured are left to be discharged. Among them was also a five-year-old boy Lovey who had gone to the satsang with his grandmother, who too suffered injuries to her stomach and chest.
Police deployment was skeletal despite the huge size of the crowd gathered. Among them was also a UP Police constable Sheela Maurya who was on duty. She suffered injuries to her back, making her unable to walk, while trying to save women and children during the stampede. Her son told how many stepped on his mother as she was trying to save others.
